His Reluctant Savior (The District #3)

22. Chapter 22

I knocked on the hotel door, which was the same hotel Dalton and I were staying in. Easton was quick to answer it. He glanced around outside to make sure no one had followed me, then he stepped aside to let me in.

“Dalton doesn’t know I’m here. I don’t need him talking me out of this, even though I haven’t made any decisions yet,” I said when I walked in and sat in one of the two chairs by the window. I peeked out of the curtains to double-check no one was watching, despite Easton doing just that. You could never be too careful.

“What decision is that?” he asked.

I glanced at him, not used to seeing Easton in pajama bottoms. It was unusual for him to dress casually unless he was blending in with the crowd while on the job. He tended to wear tailored clothes and suits in an attempt to make himself appear older than he was.

“To come home and get the family’s help with Dalton… if they don’t kill me first. Do they know you’ve been following me?”

“Of course not. They believe I’m working.”

I raised a brow. “For two weeks?”

He shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed with his hands neatly folded on his lap and his spine rigid and straight. “I gave them enough hints that I’ve caught your trail, but it was a dead end. I also explained I was following other leads, but none of them panned out. We are all still looking while trying to stay in business.”

“Even Sully?”

“Malik has Sully’s leash on, forced to sit this one out. He won’t let him hunt you down. Sully wants your head for upsetting Malik.”

I huffed a laugh that lacked humor. “No doubt. He’s always resented me for coming into their lives and daring to live in the same house for almost two months as I recovered. He’s always been jealous of my friendship with Malik. How tight is that leash?”

“Who knows? Sully can be impulsive and then apologize for it later—if he even cares to.”

“You can be impulsive as well, and you never apologize for it,” I reminded him.

“Yes, but I have the capacity to think and care more than Sully does, at least for those who matter to me. Well, the one person who matters. Regardless, you know when I’m angry. Sully’s attacks come with a calm smile and demeanor. One minute, he’s your best friend, and the next, you find yourself holding your entrails.”

I rubbed my face. “All the more reason to come in. If Sully breaks his chains, he’ll kill me for sure, then I can’t help anyone, let alone Dalton.”

“If you come in willingly, Malik may be more forgiving.”

“What about everyone else?”

“Dante will always have your back. You gave him a second chance at life. Layla loves all of us. She’s upset with you, though. Luca is Luca. He worships all of us, even… me. He is also becoming important to me. I’ve never been… worshiped before.” Easton squirmed, no doubt not used to people caring about him or how to handle it, but strangely, he was addicted to it. He had so little affection in his life that he fed off it whenever he received it, and Luca was full of affection. “Khai and Maverick are just waiting for orders. They’re good little soldiers. Malik hides it, but he cares about you. If he didn’t, he would’ve already sicced Sully on you.”

I nodded. It was as I expected. But I wanted to remind Easton that it was okay to accept others caring about him. “Luca especially likes you because you helped him and trained him with a bow, which helped save his life. He’ll never forget that. You gave him the power to fight back, something he’s never had before.”

“He’s… good. Innocent. Too good for us,” Easton said with surprising honesty.

“His soul is as blemished as ours, maybe even more so, but you’re right. Luca will always be kind and tender, though he shouldn’t be.”

Now, to test other waters .

“What if… I brought Dalton into The District?”

Easton stiffened more than he already was. “I know you love him, but do you think that’s wise? Sully will want him dead, and not even Malik will be able to control him. Sully will protect Malik at all costs, and Dalton is an FBI agent. He poses great risk to all of us.”

“He does not pose a risk. He won’t turn us in or harm us.”

He shook his head, looking at me with a hint of disappointment. If it weren’t for his fisted hands, you wouldn’t know he was upset with me. Easton was doing all he could to calm the growing anger. “You’re compromised.”

“Tell me something I don’t know, but I’m also not blind, East. I’ve been working on him because I don’t want to leave The District for good, and I want Dalton to come with me. He’s starting to understand he can’t go back to how things were. He can no longer trust his employers.”

Easton abruptly stood and growled, showing that impulsive anger he always struggled to control. “I’m sick of you on the run! I’m tired of watching your back! It’s getting… frustrating!”

“Thank you for that.”

“Shut up!” he hissed, his fingers trembling. I knew well enough that he itched for his dagger. “I miss… working with you and our training, along with our talks. You need to come back! Enough is enough, Sid. Your three weeks are nearly up. Come home with or without Dalton. I don’t care as long as you’re back. I need things to go back to how they were.”

I read between the lines. You had to in order to understand him. “I miss you, too, East. ”

With a sigh, I stood and pulled him into a hug. Because he let me, it said that we were good. “Thanks for this. I needed to get a feel for things before I made any decisions. But this is taking too long. We have more answers, but I’m not sure I can help Dalton on my own anymore. This case is getting too big.”

Easton relaxed at my words, knowing I’d be home soon, then pulled away.

“Yes, come home. They will accept you. If not, I’ll make them,” he said with a coldness I didn’t hear often. His words proved he would always choose me over the family.

Before I could respond, my phone buzzed with a notification. When I opened it, my security app showed movement on the Duvall’s property. Cars were racing up to the house, and I instantly knew they were in trouble.

“Fuck… Owen,” I hissed, my heart hammering. “I’ve got to go and get Dalton. His son’s in trouble.”

“I’m coming with you.”

It took only a beat to decide, and I nodded. “Get dressed… quickly now.”

It didn’t take us long to reach my room. I unlocked the door as Easton and I ran in. I looked around the room, blinking and processing why Dalton wasn’t where I’d left him, sleeping in bed, and the bathroom was dark with the door open.

“Where the fuck did he go?”

“He’s gone,” Easton said flatly.

Stupidly, I called out his name before I pulled out my phone and texted him.

Me: Where the fuck are you ?

“Fuck, I bet Savannah called him. When he didn’t find me, he left.”

I ran outside and looked at the parking lot. Sure enough, our car was gone. I hit my hand on the cold metal railing. “Goddammit!”

“You should have told him where you were.”

I glared at Easton as I rushed back to our room, grabbed a few guns, and tossed one to Easton. “We’re going to get him and Owen. Now. Did you bring your Beamer , or did you rent?”

“I brought my car.”

I held out my hand. “Keys. I have a lot more driving experience than you.”

He handed them to me, and we rushed to his car, jumped in, and took off with screeching tires.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been afraid, though I tried to hide it in front of Easton. My hands gripped the wheel as I cut sharp turns and drove west on the highway toward Middletown, which was a twenty-minute drive I could make in ten at the speed I was going.

“How did they find the boy, dammit? How?” I hissed.

“You can only hide for so long, Sid. You know this.”

“We were fucking careful with him. I had most of Dalton’s and Savannah’s history removed.”

“You’re asking questions which you know the answers to.”

He was right. With all the data in the world, if you dig deep enough, you can find what you’re looking for. It’s all about finding threads and connections. And Dalton and I had been running for far too long, waiting on our own threads. Perhaps Derrick Meckes, Dalton’s co-worker, found that thread with Savannah at Matthew’s funeral.

“You need the family,” Easton said calmly.

“No time. I need to reach the farm. Dalton can’t be that far ahead. Fuck, I hope Savannah and her family are okay. Once we save them, we’re coming in with Dalton and his son.”

I ignored Easton’s stare, probably questioning my rationality. Rarely did I give a fuck, but the Duvalls were good people for taking a risk to protect Owen.

As I wound around the country road not far from the farm, I tried to take deep breaths to calm my heart and fears. Fear caused mistakes. Fears blurred logic and rationality. I had to stay focused.

We drove along the driveway, passing the car Dalton had driven to get here. The house was dark, with all the lights out, making it hard to see anything other than the moon's dim glow.

I stopped the car and put it in Park as Easton and I both got out.

“It’s too quiet,” he said.

“I don’t see anyone here. Where are the other cars? Are we too late?”

I pulled out my gun and ran to the house. I tested the door to open it, but it was already cracked open, clearly not shut all the way. A lump formed in my throat, which I swallowed thickly and stepped inside with my loaded gun drawn.

“Dalton? Owen? Savannah?”

Only silence answered me.

God, was I too late? I slowly inched my way into the house, checking from room to room and every dark corner, but there was no sign of them. When I stepped into the kitchen, I found shit strewn everywhere, a clear sign of struggle.

I suddenly stopped and squatted at the red spatter on the floor.

“Fuck…”

I swore to Dalton that I would protect him and Owen, but I had failed at everything. Now, I went in search of bodies, not really wanting to know, but I had to. As I searched and searched the large house, I couldn’t find anyone alive or dead.

I stepped outside to head to the barn but stopped at Easton, squatting and inspecting the gravel driveway. “They sped away. Two cars, one possibly an SUV or a van. It left deeper indents. Fast-moving tires have sprayed the gravel. But it’s not going toward the road. Instead, the tracks lead toward the back.” He looked at me and stood. “Is the family inside?”

“No, but there’s blood.”

“A lot of it?”

I shook my head. “Just a little. They must have been taken alive.”

“The cars have been moved into the barn. They’re here and no doubt still alive.”

My gut twisted, and the only thing that kept me calm was the likelihood of them still being alive, but by how much?

“I don’t know how many men there are, but enough of them showed up to subdue an entire family and Dalton while bypassing their security.” Easton stood and handed me the gun I’d lent him back.

“I only need my knives,” he explained.

“Fine. I’ll go around the front. See if you can get in through the back of the barn and take out as many as you can in silence. The more that die, the better chances we have at getting everyone out alive.”

Easton simply nodded.

“Buzz me once you get inside and take some of them out,” I said. “I need it as clear as possible because they’re going to see me coming in.”

“Done.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

I held out my gun in front of me, rushing toward the barn in silence, while Easton, walking next to me, had a couple of daggers. No doubt he had more stashed on him. He ran off in silence toward the back, and I inched my way toward the front, staying hidden in shadows and behind trees in case they had anyone on the lookout.

At first, it appeared everyone was inside, but a man stepped out from around the other side of the barn and stood sentry by the large, closed doors, holding a gun and smoking a cigarette.

I quickly fired a round into his head, the silencer keeping the sound to a mere pop. He instantly dropped to the ground. I rushed over to him, stepped on his lit cigarette so a fire wouldn’t start, and leaned against the barn doors to listen.

Words were muffled, but I could hear talking and children crying.

How did they bypass Mason’s security? The family must have called Dalton for him to come here. Why didn’t they call the police? Maybe they did, and the assailants told them to call off the emergency. Regardless, it was risky to do this here. Then again, it was risky to take seven people.

My phone vibrated in my ass, and I pulled it out to see Easton’s message that he had taken three men out, but he couldn’t reach or see the others, which meant that at least three remained alive, if not more.

Fuck, I hated to go in blindly. I didn’t do damn rescue operations, which required quick thinking and risk-taking.

I eased one of the barn doors open a crack and peeked inside. As soon as I did, my gut bottomed out. Bleeding with his head fallen forward was Dalton, tied to a chair in the center of the barn.

Then the rage hit.

I shot a text back to Easton that I planned to go in, and we were going to kill them all—all except one. The one hurting Dalton, my Boy Scout, would hurt and suffer after I got answers from him. Then he would be lucky to die finally.

Easing the barn door open, I aimed my gun and fired a round into the head of one man leaning against a beam. With a quick breath and clear mind, I let instincts take over before firing another round into a man in my periphery.

There were definitely more than three, and they finally realized they were under attack. Easton took out the last two men. I watched them drop dead with daggers in their faces before I popped a bullet into the kneecap of the man who had pulled out a gun to shoot my Boy Scout.

He instantly dropped and held his shattered knee, crying out. The man tried to get it together and grabbed the gun he’d dropped, but he wasn’t fast enough. I kicked him in his gut, forcing him to double over and dry heave before kicking away his gun .

“Easton!” I called out.

He dropped from the eaves and stood by my side.

“Tie the man up against the pillar.”

Easton went to work, finding rope and tying the man as I checked on Dalton, kneeling in front of him. “Baby?”

The rage hit again, seeing his bloodied face. I was going to fucking kill them all. All those people who put him in this situation were going to die, or at least pay one way or another.

“Sid?”